Professional Dairy Producers Foundation Grant Criteria

Professional Dairy Producers Foundation Grant Criteria

The Professional Dairy Producers Foundation was founded by producers and agribusiness friends who believe education is the key to a healthy dairy community, and wanted to ensure that this strongly-held value remains part of our dairy communities long-term. Therefore, we intend to make grants with strong educational components.

TO WHOM WILL THE FOUNDATION AWARD GRANTS?
The majority of our grants to date have gone to fund programs initiated by the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, our founding organization. When PDPW leaders established the Foundation, they also intended to fund programs beyond PDPW, as long as the proposed ideas fit our granting guidelines.

Applying organizations must be non-profit, with an IRS status of 501(c)(3) or (c)(5). At the present time, the Foundation only funds programs within the United States .

FUNDING IS AVAILABLE:
Please review the Request for Proposal documents at the bottom of this page for eligibility and application information. Grant applications are due December 9, 2011.

TARGETED AREAS OF SUPPORT:
At the present time, programs or education initiatives we intend to support fall into these main areas:

• Building PRODUCER PROFESSIONALISM - Engaging and equipping our people in lifelong learning, including producer leadership skills and our next generation of professional dairy producers.
• Maintaining PUBLIC TRUST – Unified outreach programs that educate and engage both the dairy community and the public, helping facilitate trust.

GRANT-MAKING CRITERIA:
Our board will weigh the quality of proposals against any or all of the following considerations:

• Industry Leadership--Will this grant be a catalyst for change or further education opportunities? Like a tugboat, our funds can be used to lead the industry into uncharted waters, trying new ideas.• “Sharability”--Does this grant align with our mission? Our mission is “ To share ideas, resources and experiences about important issues surrounding the dairy industry through educational opportunities for dairy producers and the public.” Therefore, we want to work in partnership with organizations that align with our mission. We look for ways to advance promising programs and share “what works” with others in the industry.• Leverage--Will this grant make use of already proven solutions? We encourage organizations to leverage our grant with other resources to achieve educational goals.• Impact--Is the applying organization capable of demonstrating measurable impact: When we ask donors to give to the Foundation, we ask them to invest in the future of the dairying in our communities. Therefore, we look for a demonstrable return on the grants we make. Applications should include ways that you intend to communicate and publicize your program's results and findings.

Commitment to Partnership—Is the applying organization capable of helping the Foundation grow its influence and capacity in the future? Our vision is “a professional, proactive and prepared dairy community, united through education initiatives.” We ask our grant recipients to help us build awareness and support for the Foundation among key audiences, so we can build our fundraising capacity and continue to fund education programs.